


The Winter Air

by MsHermia



Series: Irondad/Spiderson Whumptober 2020 [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Hurt Tony Stark, Irondad, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Parent Pepper Potts, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Whump, Peter-centric, Post-Endgame, Protective Pepper Potts, Protective Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Lives, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:14:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27069226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsHermia/pseuds/MsHermia
Summary: Whumptober 2020 Prompt No. 13 - Breathe In, Breathe OutDelayed Drowning |Chemical Pneumonia| Oxygen MaskTony, Peter, and Morgan spent a winter day outside the Stark residence. A light-hearted afternoon on the frozen lake suddenly turns deadly serious.
Relationships: Happy Hogan & Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Irondad/Spiderson Whumptober 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1971784
Comments: 33
Kudos: 139
Collections: The Best Irondad/Spiderson Fics, The Best Peter Parker Whump Fics





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> I'm using my own Fix-it to Endgame "Like You'd know how it works" as a basis for the timeline, though the prompt will work fine without having read that story. The important part is, that Tony's not dead.
> 
> Baseline: circa 6 months after Tony is brought back from the multiverse.

The months following what Peter referred to in his mind as the "almost-apocalypse" were supposed to be all joyful and merry. The world was saved. Not just their world, but the universe. Thanos was gone. Mr. Stark wasn't, not any more. Cheers all around, right?

Well, it wasn't that easy. Because things were apparently never just _easy_ in the life of one Peter Parker. Turned out, there were still some assholes out there. Not the Thanos-kind. Not for now at least. The regular kind though and Peter for one saw absolutely no reason as to why anything should have changed in his responsibility to stop them from being assholes.

His aunt somehow disagreed more often than she didn't. Annoyingly now though, she managed to drag Mr. Stark to her side a lot more than she used to, too.

Peter shook his head at himself. Tony. T-O-N-Y. It wasn't that hard, was it? He still slipped up every so often. But as much as that bugged him, it was the others who bugged him even more. Colonel Rhodes and Hawkeye among them the most willing to tease Peter about it. Him, and Tony too, for his mentor never commented on it with more than a crooked smile. When it was just the two of them, that was often the only indication for Peter, that he had said it again.

It made the times when it really was just them so enjoyable. A new ease between them. They had never had this, this kind of bonding. Sure, they'd spent time together before everything had gone downhill on their little space adventure, in the lab or on a normal earth-bound mission. Not like this though, not like Peter staying over at the Stark residence for a few days at a time. Not like him sliding along-side Morgan on the ice on the lake, trying to catch Tony. Not like Morgan falling over and taking Tony right with her and the way Peter's stomach hurt from laughing so hard when Mr. Stark's sweet little Morguna drowsed him with two full hands of snow and he just hadn't seen it coming.

Tony wiggled and wound his neck trying to scrape the clumpy snow out of his collar before it could slide down his back.

"Oh, to be betrayed in such a cruel fashion." He pointed a clenched fist towards the sky, then a finger at Morgan, who was hiding behind Peter's leg. "And by you, Bambina, you... the apple of my eye... princess of my heart."

Peter snorted so hard, he almost doubled over. "I can't believe you pulled that off." He broke out in laughter again just at the sight of Tony cringing as the cold had slid under his clothes at last. A congratulatory high-five with Morgan for a fight well fought and deservedly won, it had a vibe of trust and love that Peter had never expected and that he would never want to give up.

The winter air was crisp and clear, the perfect day to be outside like this. So far out of the city, away from the rush and noise. Peaceful tranquility. Maybe he could get used to that. From time to time at least.

Peter was still busy marveling in the pleasant vibes of this winter day when suddenly there was a shift. His heart gave a jump and instinctively he reached behind himself for Morgan. It happened faster than Peter could call out to him. There was a deep hollow cracking sound and in the next moment, a split ran through the ice all the way to where Mr. Stark stood. Where he had been standing. For just as fast as that sound had murmured across the lake, had his mentor disappeared.

Peter stared at the spot for what felt like a minute but was likely less than a few seconds before his brain caught up to what had just happened. No evil monster, no inter-galactic warfare, no. The ice underneath Tony's feet had simply cracked and he had taken a dive into the water below.

Peter clapped a hand over his mouth so he wouldn't curse or worse, laugh out loud in front of Morgan. Instead, he turned to her, biting the insides of his own cheeks as not to crack up. "Hey Morg, go, run, and tell your mommy that your dad just took an ice bath and will need some hot tea in a minute." It was better to have her off the ice now anyway.

Not until Peter had turned away from Morgan and towards the hole in the ice where Mr. Stark had taken a chilly dive, did he realized something was missing. No curses about how fucking cold that lake was. No splashing from how the man had been supposed to be crawling back onto the ice layer right about now. In fact, minus Morgan's giggles from sliding towards the house and a few birds chirping, there were no sounds around them.

With belated shock, Peter realized that his mentor had not yet made it back to the surface at all. His whole body shook as his pulse went into overdrive. Quickly, Peter crouched down to the icy floor and pulled himself closer to the hole, his weight distributed across his whole body and giving less direct pressure onto the ice. He could only hope that he wouldn't follow the man underneath the icy surface.

The layer around the hole seemed sturdy enough and Peter reached into the water on instinct. It burned like a million small needles were simultaneously thrust into his skin. But beyond that, the cold almost paralyzed him. Unable to see much of anything, he felt around blindly underneath the surface, hoping to somehow just come across Mr. Stark. He had to be there. Had to be somewhere! Panic was overtaking reason with every second that his hands came up empty. He splashed as deeply into the water as he could while still holding himself on the ice. There was nothing, he didn't feel anything except cold.

In a split-second decision, Peter sat up straight. His arms were shaking so strongly, his fingers so stiff from the cold, he hardly managed to hold onto the zipper of his jacket.

"Fuck..." he whispered, rubbing his hands against each other to get back some amount of feeling, control. "Fuck, fuck, fucking work already!" His voice getting louder with every syllable. It felt like an eternity until he could finally pull his jacket off. His shirt was next, then he kicked off his shoes and his pants. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck fuck!"

He didn't think, didn't hesitate as he slid into the water for if he had, he might have never been strong enough to force himself to go in.

"Oh-oh god, fuck, shit, oh, holy—" The cold was a shock to his system, worse than he could have imagined. He wouldn't be able to function for long until his muscles would spasm and he might sink like a rock to the bottom at the lake. His heart gave a painful squeeze at the thought that that might be where Mr. Stark clothes had dragged him—

"Fuck, no," he spluttered. There was no time for that.

Mr. Stark was close. He could just tell, he couldn't be far off. Peter's hands groped their way through the water around him, when there was a commotion on the shore of the lake. "Peter! Oh... oh my god, Peter!"

He had a hard time keeping himself above the surface, couldn't even think to call out to her as she started to rush towards him, had already slid two steps onto the ice. He tried to wave her away but she wouldn't stop. One of his hands shot up from the water, anchoring itself on the edge of the ice. His limbs hurt like hell, but he tried to concentrate, attach himself to the slick surface.

It gave him some purchase, enough to keep his head above water. "G-get back!" His lungs were burning. "Don-don't c-come clo-oser!"

The last thing he needed was for Pepper to end up in the lake as well.

"Oh my god, Peter get out of there! Where... where's Tony?"

She hadn't even realized it seemed, why he was in the water in the first place. That her husband was somewhere underneath all that ice possibly not finding his way out, unable to break the hard layer above him, possibly unconscious already drifting further and further away.

"Ju-just st-t-tay back!"

It became apparent to him soon enough that his mentor was nowhere in reach, had maybe swum in the wrong direction to get out, maybe just floated off. There was only one option left and that was to go after him. Hoping, pleading with the universe that he would find him.

Without another glance in Pepper's direction, he pulled himself further into the water. As his head slipped under the surface, his body was more than willing to pull the off switch altogether. It took all the strength he had to focus on Mr. Stark, to hold onto that hope of finding him just so he wouldn't pass out from the shock of the cold water. His eyes were open but the water was murky. It was hard to see anything at all, especially with the ice filtering out most of the light. He trashed and turned and turned, careful to keep one hand glued to the edge of the hole, too much panic running through his veins to concentrate, to find him. He kicked his legs and broke out of the water, gasping.

"Peter!" Miss Pepper's voice was shrill, almost hysterical. It made all of this somewhat more real. Made his eyes burn with tears and frustration despite the ice-cold water.

It wasn't like he had a choice. What was he supposed to do? Not go back and look for his mentor? Once more Peter dove into the freezing water hardly able to feel his limbs at all. He went a little further this time, only his fingertips still keeping a connection to the only way out of this icy hell.

His lungs burned, desperately wanting to pull in a breath and that was when it happened. Peter was just reaching into the void and there was someone else, reaching back. Another hand grabbing at his arm and Peter pulled as hard as his spasming muscles allowed him to. He pulled them both back towards the surface, gasping for air as his head broke out of the water. Mr. Stark popped up right next to him coughing hard, his gasps almost sounding painful.

Peter couldn't feel his arms or legs, couldn't even feel the freezing temperature of the icy layer as he tried to climb out of the water. At this point, he wasn't even sure if his legs were still working. It almost seemed like a cruel joke when after all their struggling, the Iron Man armor swooshed in, now hovering above them, arms reaching for them to not just pull them out of the lake but fly them right onto the porch of the house. It took him a moment - maybe he was too preoccupied with trying to catch his breath - but then he realized what had happened. It wasn't even Mr. Stark's armor that had come to save them. Not red and gold, but gold and blue. Rescue.

Just as he wrapped his arms around himself, Pepper had her armor open up and she rushed forward, kneeling next to them. Right away, her hands reached for Mr. Stark. Bend over him, she pulled his wet jacket from his body.

"Peter?" Her voice was heavy, full of tears. "Peter, you're okay. It'll... it'll be okay!"

He didn't even feel that cold anymore, just stiff and tired, his muscles only shivering slightly as he sat there in nothing but his socks and boxers trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened. That was probably not a good sign, but the least of his problems. He crawled over to Mr. Stark, determined to help Pepper while the man's whole body was shaking from deep, raspy coughs.

"It's okay, honey. Let's just get you out of these clothes." She sounded forcefully calm, desperate to at least fake some sense of control of the whole situation.

"P-Pep..." Mr. Stark's voice didn't even sound like him, raspy and shaking.

"Shh, I'm right here. Honey, it'll be just fine, okay?"

"Th-the kid... th-the kid..."

Pepper had a hard time trying to work her husband's arms out of the wet sweater. "Morgan is fine. It's ok. We'll get all this off you and then you just need to warm up, okay?"

"N-no! P-P-Pete... Pe-Pete!"

"R-right here, Mr. St-tark."

The man's eyes shifted to his face, his chest deflating only to be rattled by another coughing fit. He looked awful, his face ashen, eyes hooded and dull. Seeing him like this hurt worse than the cold had. A lot worse.

Pepper tried to soothing her husband before she pressed forward with getting him out of the cold wet pants. "Peter, go inside!"

"'M fine." He was trying to undo the frozen laces on Mr. Stark heavy boots but while his hands weren't shaking any longer, his fingers were still too stiff to be of any use.

"You're not _fine_ , you might have—"

The patio door blew open and Morgan rushed out to them, tear streaming down her face as she sank to her knees, hugging herself against Mr. Stark's chest as best as she could while he was still struggling through heavy coughs.

"Morgan, honey, go inside! Peter, please..." Pepper reached for Mr. Stark's other shoe though, not pushing Peter away. "Morgan, get me some scissors from the kitchen drawer."

"It... it's okay." Peter had abandoned his efforts to unknot them and simply ripped the laces off. He didn't stop there. It was almost cathartic as he felt the fabric of the man's pants rip.

Pepper froze for a moment, her eyes wide. "Al-alright." She cleared her throat, eyes still in Peter. "That's... erm. Right." She shook her head and turned towards her husband, one hand on his chest. "Let's get you inside, honey."


	2. Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whumptober 2020 Prompt No. 13 - Breathe In, Breathe Out  
> Delayed Drowning | ~~Chemical Pneumonia~~ | Oxygen Mask

If it hadn't been for the stiffness in Peter's limbs and how his muscles had started to shake again as his body started to warm, what had happened on the lake - and in the ice-cold water - would have seemed like nothing more than a nightmare back in the cozy warmth of the Stark's living room.

It had all been happening rather fast after they had both been pulled out of the water. Once they had Mr. Stark out of his wet clothes, Peter helped him up to his feet, one arm around his back. His legs felt like they didn't even belong to his body but it wasn't far to the living room, then to the couch and Mr. Stark definitely needed the support. Pepper rushed in after them, thick blankets in hand. 

"Alright, on the couch with him. Pete, go and change! Something dry and warm, go on!"

By the time Peter made it back downstairs, Mr. Stark too was in a dry set of clothes lying on his back on the couch, his head propped up a little, blankets all around him and his daughter clinging to his torso. For a moment, Peter just stood there in the doorway, hesitating, completely entranced by father and daughter. How she had curled up half on top of him, how Mr. Stark's head was bowed, snuggled into the girl's hair, whispering soft reassurances, comforting her. 

"Darling, come on, take this." Pepper had walked up behind him and pressed a cup of hot tea into his hands, then ran a hand through his wet hair, cupping his face. "You're still cold as ice. Go on, get yourself on the couch."

She pressed the other cup into Mr. Stark's hands, then planted a kiss on his forehead. The man's eyes fell shut at the gesture and he pulled in a deep breath then scrunched up his face and his whole body shook with another coughing fit. Pepper was fast to keep his hand steady so he wouldn't spill the hot beverage over himself.

"Shh, just breathe, honey, just breathe."

It seemed that was easier said than done, but soothing words did calm him down. Exhaustion was lining his face.

"We just need to warm you back up, okay? Both of you." She sent a look in Peter's direction.

Peter sat up a little straighter. Frantically wondering what to do to get warmer, he blew on the tea in his hands and took in a deep breath, the hot steam rushing into his lungs. His eyes fell shut in pure bliss. There was no denying how good it felt to have that warmth spread deep inside his body. He blinked his eyes open in surprise when a heavy blanket was placed around his shoulders as well. 

"Just lean back, get your legs up on the couch, dear," Pepper whispered, making sure the blanket stayed in place as he shuffled further back onto the couch. She wrapped a second one around his legs, tugging it in tightly. "Alright, that's better." 

"Th-thanks, Pepper," he said quietly, his face half-hidden behind that cup of tea.

Her expression was still tense, the worried lines on her forehead speaking volumes. She took the cup of tea out of his hands again.

"Be careful with that. Your hands are so cold you might burn them and won't even realize."

A corner of the blanket wrapped around the cup, she carefully put the mug back into his hands, then cupped his face and looked straight at him. For a moment, it seemed like she wanted to say something but she didn't. Her lips tightly pressed together, she worked the hood of his sweatshirt out from underneath the blanket on his back and pulled it over his wet hair.

"Come on, sweety," her hand stretched out in Morgan's direction. "Let's get some wood for the fireplace, hm? So the boys can warm up."

Morgan's eyes sparkled and she jumped at the chance to help. For the moment, that left him and Mr. Stark alone on opposite ends of the couch. His tea still too hot to actually drink, Peter kept blowing at it, inhaling the steam and shifting his eyes over to his mentor.

He didn't look at Peter, holding his own cup of tea that was wrapped with his blanket just like Peter's.

"Mr. Stark?" Peter swallowed hard. "Tony, are... are you okay?"

He cringed at how dumb that sounded. Of course, he wasn't _okay_ , but he would be, right? He had to be. For the longest moment, the man didn't say anything. With every passing second of silence, Peter's heart seemed to beat a little louder.

"You k-keep saving me, huh?" Mr. Stark whispered at last. "I don't l-like it."

Peter blew out a breath, he hadn't even realized he was holding. "Well, I... I don't like it either, you know? So just..." He shrugged in an effort of the dry banter they usually engaged in, the ghost of a smirk on his lips. "Stop trying to die on me, How about that?"

It was meant as a flippant remark but Mr. Stark's head shot up, his eyes burning. "I t-told you not t-to do this anymore, didn't I?" 

Peter's eyes widened. His heart jumped into a jittery pace like that of a scared little bunny rabbit.

"I t-told you to stop r-risking your life f-for me, didn't I?" The man's voice was as cold as the lake they had been submerged in less than 30 minutes ago.

Peter's hands were shaking and it didn't have anything to do with the mild hypothermia at this point. "B-but, Mr. Stark, you—"

"There are n-no 'but's here, no neg-gotiations! Just f-fucking stop!"

Peter retreated into the cushions of the couch as far as they would allow it, his face hidden behind the blanket and mug of tea for his eyes were burning with tears. In fact, he had to press the blanket against his mouth to stifle the shallow sobs he couldn't suppress when Pepper and Morgan rushed back into the room.

The raspy cough Mr. Stark was shaking with once again, made Peter only feel worse. Pepper did her best to calm him down with whispered soft words, reassuring touches. Peter couldn't watch though. Not as Mr. Stark was trying to catch his breath. Not as the girl kept giggling, talking her dad through everything she did when Pepper showed her how to build the fire. Instead, he tried to hide beneath the blankets as best as he could, frantically trying to come up with a plan on how he could just get out of there. How he could just _leave_ and crawl under the covers of his own bed far, far away from all of them.

It wasn't like he'd had a choice! What... he didn't even know what Mr. Stark had expected of him. Should he have just walked away? Let the man drown with his wife and daughter watching on? After all the mumbo-jumbo with the multiverse they had gone through to get him back, should Peter have just let him suffocate under the ice in the middle of a winter day outing with Morgan?

His face was still so cold he didn't feel the tears falling off his lashes, so just to be safe, he preemptively dabbed his burning eyes with the blanket in regular intervals. At some point, Pepper had leaned over him, checking on him, and Peter had just pretended to be asleep as she took the empty cup from his hands.

Soon enough, pretend sleep turned into real sleep, leaving Peter uneasy and alone with his thoughts.

By the time he blinked his eyes open again, night had fallen on the world outside. The only light illuminating the room came from the warm flare of the fireplace. Peter's legs were stiff, but he suppressed the urge to stretch them as to not attract any attention, squinting up from behind the blanket.

Pepper was quietly sitting on the couch between him and Mr. Stark, her eyes unfocused, staring into the empty space somewhere just next to the fireplace. Morgan was lying right between Pepper and Tony. She had crawled underneath his blanket and curled up close to her dad. The man's breathing was still uneven, labored even in sleep. When he coughed again, Pepper reached over to him, had one hand run through his hair, then across his forehead. She hesitated for a moment, eyebrows pulled close together in a frown.

"Is he okay?" Peter tried to speak as low as he could, hoping he couldn't wake either father or daughter. 

Pepper's eyes were still on her husband before she whispered her response. "Yeah, he... he's fine. Bit of a cough and..." She pursed her lips but shook her head. "It's..." She shook her head again. "It seems like he's running a bit of a fever, but I guess... I guess that's to be expected when you plunge into a frozen lake, right? He just... just needs some peace and quiet to recover."

Peter nodded, in what he was hoping to be a reassuring manner. "Yeah, right..."

Her hand was still cupping M. Stark's face and her thumb ran softly back and forth over his cheek before she tore herself away from him, eyes on Peter "You hungry, hm? I made some soup."

Peter wanted to shake his head at first but then recognized the offer as the chance to get out of there, maybe in time at least away to his room so he could mope in peace.

She carefully got up off the sofa, but her eyes widened as Peter followed her lead.

"No, no, no," she whispered, arms outstretched in a gesture to stop him. "You can just—"

"It's fine, I..." He avoided her eyes as he peeled the blankets off himself. "Just... want to stretch my legs a bit."

She was next to him with only a couple of quick steps, one hand on his forehead, the other sliding across the back of his hand underneath the sleeve of his hoodie, taking a hold of his wrist. Her eyes narrowed at him as the hand on his face wandered from his forehead to his cheek to the back of his neck. 

"Hm." She took a step back, both her hands falling off him. "Okay, I guess you do seem like you've warmed up, hm?"

Peter had his eyes on the floor and only shrugged, then followed her out of the room into the kitchen. She pointed at one of the bar stools for him to sit while she went ahead and reheated the soup. There was mostly silence between them. Pepper was lost in her thoughts and Peter didn't mind that at all. Preferred it, really. He didn't feel like talking. Talking just brought up things he didn't want to say out loud, things he didn't even want to think about. He was happy enough to stuff his face with her soup once she put a bowl in front of him. They sat opposite each other and for every second of it, Peter was hoping she wouldn't ask him something, wouldn't try to like... He cringed. Thank him or something.

He shook his head. It had been Pepper after all, Rescue, who had pulled them out of the water. His bowl was almost empty by the time he realized that she really hadn't said anything, only sat there, eyes on the table between them. Maybe she was just tired... Maybe she...

Peter squinted at her from under his eyelashes but she seemed to not even register that he was there with her.

"Pepper?"

At first, she didn't move at all. Peter was already contemplating whether she had even heard him when she blinked once and then murmured a low "Hm?"

He was staring at her, his spoon halfway between the bowl and his mouth. "Are you... I mean..." Peter frowned at himself, not sure how to really do this. They didn't do heart-to-hearts. Were hardly ever alone together. Hadn't really been, in fact, not since Mr. Stark had been... had been gone. "Pepper, are you okay?"

She blinked a couple more times, then gave her head a subtle shake. "I'm sorry, honey, what did you say?"

Peter's frown deepened. "I asked if you're okay?"

Once again, she stayed silent. 

"Pepper?" he asked a little louder now.

Her shoulders jerked almost as if she had flinched away from him but finally, her eyes found his. "You... you want more soup?"

Peter shook his head and let the spoon fall back into his bowl. "What's wrong?"

She blinked rapidly, the soft smile on her face was not up to her standards. "Nothing, nothing. It's..." She shook her head. "Everything's alright."

Peter's eyebrows were still knitted together tightly and he just kept staring at her. It's what Mr. Stark always did to him when he was— He bit his lower lip hard.

"It's nothing, really, it's..." She cleared her throat, thumb, index- and middle finger rubbing along the bridge of her nose. "It's just..." With a long breath, her eyes were back on the table. "It's the first time that I've... erm... worn the armor since, you know." She swallowed hard, eyes still low. "Since that day."

His eyes widened. "Oh." That hadn't even occurred to him. 

"It's..." She cleared her throat again, then shook her head. "It's not that I had worn it a lot before that day, hardly ever really, only... only for the training that Tony deemed necessary, but it..." She shook herself, head bowed low.

"He's... he's fine though," Peter whispered. "He's fine now."

"Oh, honey..." She got off her own chair and walked around the table. "Come here..." Her arms pulled him in, held him close. "You did so good, Peter. We owe you so, so much. The way you kept him safe... brought him back and..." Peter wasn't even sure if they were still talking about the lake of about his trip into the multiverse as she tightened her arms around him. "We could never begin to repay you for that."

Peter tried his best to just hug her back and not think about the harsh words of his mentor, the anger in his eyes. Her arms just held him against her, her breathing heavy and Peter was sure that she was crying. He didn't mind her holding him though. At least that way she couldn't see his own tears.

"How about..." Pepper blew out a shaky breath, emotion still heavy in her voice. "I think you should probably call May. Let her know that you're okay."

Peter grimaced against Pepper's shoulder. That was the last thing he wanted to do. "It's fine. She... I mean, it's erm... it's done with now, you know, no reason to... to worry her."

Peter hadn't realized how heavy he was leaning against her but when she took a sudden step backward, he staggered a bit at the loss of contact. Pepper's eyes were still a little red, looking him up and down. "Are you suggesting that we should keep what happened on the lake a secret from your aunt?"

"I... erm..." He scratched the back of his neck. "I'm just saying that she would be... worried. If I told her she'd make this big deal out of it and I mean, maybe it's better to... to spare her the—"

"Peter."

He swallowed hard his eyes wide.

Pepper tilted her head to the side, her face going a little softer. "That's a horrible idea and you know it." 

His head turned away from her, his annoyance was about to overtake his nerves. "I just don't need the lecture." He's already had that one.

She clasped both his hands and squeezed them tight. "She's just worried. It's... We're all still adjusting. It's been a lot to take. The... the past months."

The past _years_ was what she had likely wanted to say, but there seemed to be an unwritten rule somehow between the grown-ups that that time was to be mentioned to him as little as possible, which in reality meant never.

"She's just going to team up with Mr. Stark and then they—" He groaned in frustration. "I already got the lecture, okay? I just..." 

"Lecture?" He could hear the frown even in her voice. "What lecture?"

He pulled one hand away from her grip and rubbed it across his face to hide the fact that he really just wanted to try and force away the tears that were threatening to spill over once again.

"Pete?" 

His eyes pressed shut, he sucked in a deep breath then tilted his head all the way back and blinked, eyes still anywhere but on her.

"He... he said that I shouldn't, you know... that he doesn't _like it_ when I... I help him... like.. like _I like_ that and... and that I'm still out there and today he... he said, I shouldn't... he said I risked myself to help him and.... and that I shouldn't have." His mood was spiraling downwards fast. "I don't even know how he thinks this is supposed to work, like... does he really think that there's ever going to be a point where I would just like sit back and watch him die? It's ridiculous! And May... May like... loses her mind when I come home maybe 5 minutes late from patrol. She's worried _all_ the time because she says the city isn't safe anymore and I just don't get it, that's what I do. I make the city a little safer but she just wants me to stop or something? Like... what good is that gonna do?" 

Peter was almost panting by the time he was done and it dawned on him what he had just said to her. His pulse picked up, nerves pushing away his anger as he slowly shifted on the barstool, squinting at her from the side.

"Listen...erm... I just..." Not just nerves, embarrassment was pulsing through him as he wiped away another tear from his cheek. A sense of dread made his stomach turn. "I didn't mean—"

"Shh, you're okay." Her face was soft with understanding. "I'll talk to them, okay?"

"You'll..." His mouth fell open. "What do you mean, you'll talk to them?"

Her hand moved up to his shoulder as she stepped around his back and sat down on the stool next to him. First, she just looked at him, lip caught between her teeth. Then her head slanted to the side a bit as she blew out a deep breath. "I've... I've known Tony for about 25 years now. When he... when he became Iron Man I was..." She shook her head eyes to the side like she had a direct lense into the past. "I was terrified. He kept risking himself, so others were safe. So I was safe. Kept coming home with bruises and... and nightmares and for the longest time I just... I tried to pull him away from that because it seemed... it seemed inevitable that at some point his luck would run out and I would lose him." Her eyes were sparkling with tears. "And then it did and you... you brought him back to me, Peter."

He bit the inside of his cheeks hard, trying not to think of those days when everyone in his world had seemed to have given up on his mentor.

Pepper sniffed, then fought to put that smile back onto her lips. "It took me years to understand and... and accept that there was no taking Iron Man out of Tony. It just... it just takes some time and they... they've mourned you, for years They are just terrified." She squeezed his hand, an empathetic frown on her face. "Just give them a little time, okay?" 

His eyes were on his hands, unwilling to look at her, but Pepper just sighed as she got up. One hand on his shoulder she pressed her phone into his hands, May's number already pulled up. "Call her. I'll go and check on Micheal Phelps and his little cheerleader."

Peter stared at the phone in his hands, May's name seemingly staring back at him. How could he tell her that he had jumped into a lake in sub-freezing temperatures, had dove underneath the layer of ice, only hanging on to the exit by his fingertips? He couldn't. He'd never hear the end of it.

With a deep breath he tapped on the number and the phone rang only twice till she picked up.

"Pepper?"

Peter clear his throat. "No, erm, it... it's me."

"Peter? Is everything okay?"

He blinked his eyes to the ceiling. "Yeah, we're fine. Everything's okay."

"Do you need something, honey? Do you need me to pick you up?"

For a second that thought actually didn't sound like such a bad idea, but then he shook his head to himself. May didn't even have a car, plus... no. It would be super suspicious plus... no, he wouldn't run. "Nothing like that. It's... erm... It's just that we had a bit of a... a mishap this afternoon and Pepper suggested that... that I just tell you, so you know."

"A mishap?"

"Yeah, it... it's honestly not such a big deal. We were out on the lake and Mr... Tony, he... he stood in a weird spot and broke through the ice but I just pulled him out and we've been warming up in front of the fire ever since."

"Oh, goodness..." She cleared her throat and it was like Peter could almost see her, sitting up straighter. "Are you two okay?"

"Oh yeah, no, I mean I'm... I'm just great." He grimaced at how high pitched and forced his voice sounded. "And Pepper... Pepper's been making lots of tea and soup and it's... it's all fine, really."

"Hm." It was like she could smell it on him even from all these miles away. "So, you're fine."

"Right. Yeah. All good."

"And how is Tony doing?"

Peter's hand shot up and scratched his head. "Yeah, just... bit of a cough and..." He cringed. Eyes pressed close, he tried to keep his tone as light as possible. "Pepper thinks he might... might be running a bit of a fever. He's sleeping. Bit of a cold, I guess."

The other line stayed silent for a moment. "That's a little fast for cold systems to—" Another moment of silence. "How long was he in the water for?"

"Erm..." Peter slid off the chair, starting to pace around the kitchen island. "I... I don't know, maybe... phew... it all like, happened so fast."

"You just pulled him right out? He didn't swallow any water? Did he go under?"

"He... well..." Peter had a hard time keeping his voice all conversational. "I mean he... he fell right into the water so—"

"How long has he been sleeping for?"

"I... erm..." He frowned, not just at her sober tone but just the multitude of questions she came up with. "I'm not—"

"How was his state of mind? Relaxed or a bit.. bit tenser?"

Peter closed his eyes in resignation. "I mean, he didn't seem to have enjoyed the experience of it all that much. Who would, I guess, right? So if he was a bit... bit irritated, I guess that—

"Let me just... I need to talk to Pepper."

His eyes widened. "She... erm... Pepper is... is somewhere probably checking on Mr. Stark, I—"

"Peter, listen to me. This is important. I need to talk to her right away."

He threw his head back, silently cursing, then reluctantly shuffled back into the living room. He could hear Mr. Stark coughing from the hallway. 

"Is that Tony who's coughing?"

"Ye-yeah," Peter whispered.

"Good god." 

He blinked, a little taken aback. That had almost sounded like... like honest concern in his aunt's tone.

Pepper was bent over Mr. Stark, trying to calm him. The man's face looked like he was in agony and right at that moment, it struck Peter that maybe... maybe things weren't all that okay like he had thought they were.

"Er... Pepper..." His eyes wandered down to Morgen, whose eyes were open and full of tears as she clung to her dad. "Pepper?"

"Shh... honey, just..." She blew out a shaky breath. "It'll be okay. Just try to stay calm, okay?" She reached behind herself for Peter. "Pete, it's... it's Morgan's bedtime, can you... Tony, honey, try... try to sit up a little, okay?"

"Peter?" If May's tone had surprised him before, the ring of seriousness to her voice now almost scared him. "I need to talk to her right now. Just put me on speaker, leave the phone and get Morgan to her room, okay?"

"I... erm..." He couldn't look away from how Pepper had pulled Mr. Stark into a sitting position, how he was bend over coughing so hard, there were hardly any breaks for him to draw breath.

"Peter, do it right now!"

"Ri-right, okay..." Shaky fingers pressed the speaker button before he put the phone down on the couch. "Morg... come on, let's... let's go upstairs, hm?"

She was crying in earnest now. "No... I don't.... don't wanna go... don't wanna go!"

It was like Peter was on autopilot. She weighed nothing to him and he just plucked her off the couch and carried her from the room, straining his ears to listen to his Aunt.

"Pepper, listen to me. I think Tony might have aspirated some water. It might have lead to inflammation in his lungs, you should—"

Peter closed the door to Morgan's room with a thump. He was holding her tightly pressed against his chest while she was kicking and crying. 

"Shhh, Morgan, just... it's gonna be—" His voice failed. He couldn't. He couldn't find it in himself to tell her that. That it would be okay because, he didn't know, did he? What if... What if—

The door behind him flew open. There was no color on Pepper's face at all. She rubbed a hand across Morgan's back while she was still in Peter's arms. 

"Morgan, Peter will look after you for a bit, okay?"

The girl was reaching for her mom, mumbling her name over and over again but something within Peter had him hold her tight even though his heart was racing.

"What's... what's happening?" He tried to keep his voice low, could only hope that Morgan was too far gone already to really listen.

"We're going to the hospital." It sounded like Pepper was about to cry and that only stoked Peter's rising panic. "Just... just keep her safe, okay?" She leaned closer and pressed a kiss onto Morgan's hair. "Shh, honey... Just like when Uncle Happy is here to watch you, hm?"

Just like that, she turned and closed the door behind her. And just like that Peter was alone with their crying girl in his arms.

It took him a good long while to calm Morgan down. It didn't help one bit that he was just as freaked out as she was. To be honest, if crying and wiggling and calling for his mom and dad had been an option, he might have been willing to embrace it. It wasn't though, not when he had a crying 4-year-old in his arms. Not when _his_ mom and dad... well.

He sat with her, his legs stretched out on the floor next to her bed, and ran his hand through her hair like he had seen Pepper and Tony do. A cold shiver went down his back at how bad the man had looked. Again and again, his hand stroked the little girl's hair until she cried a little less, then not at all, her eyes tightly shut. 

By the time Peter made it to his room, his only thought was to go for his phone which he only now realized was still in the pocket of his jacket. The jacket that he was pretty sure was still lying out there on the lake.

"FRI?" He looked up to the ceiling. "Call Pepper."

_**"Mrs. Stark is currently not available. I am instructed to connect you to May Parker instead."** _

"Right," he whispered as the call rang through his room. 

She picked up after only seconds. "Peter?"

"What's happening?" 

"Honey, listen, I've talked to Pepper. Tony has to stay at the hospital for a bit so they can treat him. Happy is on his way back from the Compound site to pick me up in Queen right now and we will be with you in just a couple of hours, okay?"

"But... I don't..." His voice was shaking. "I don't understand, what is happening?"

"There's... there's a bit of lake water in Tony's lungs and..." She cleared her throat. "And they have to get that taken care of. I don't know the details yet. We'll have to wait till—"

"But, but... does he... does he need surgery?"

"No, honey, he... I don't think so. He needs oxygen and—"

"But he hates the breathing tube!" His voice sounded hysterical even to his own ears.

"Peter, honey, listen. Just sit tight for a couple more hours, okay? We'll talk about everything when Happy and I get to the house. I love you, honey. Get some sleep, okay?"

His lips were tightly pressed together, eyes shut as he tried to control his emotions.

"Peter?"

"Yeah," he breathed.

"I'll be there really soon, okay?"

"O-okay." 

After she hung up, he clapped a hand over his mouth, stifling his sobs. Staggering feet got him as far as his bed and he let himself fall back onto it. 

She hadn't said the magic words. Not once. _He'll be okay._ They hadn't come over her lips at all. 

He had FRIDAY turn off the lights, want to just disappear into the darkness, his face buried in his pillow when the door to his room was pushed open and carefully, quietly Morgan tiptoed over to him and then crawled into his bed. She snuggled close, her head on his chest while Peter was frozen, not sure what to do. First, he tried not to move at all, to breathe as normally as he could, careful not to show his nerves, his fear. But as her hand grabbed a handful of his hoodie, holding onto him, he gave up the pretense and turned enough to wrap his arm around her.

"You awake?" she whispered.

He sniffed out a dry laugh. "I am now."

"Did I wake you?"

He bit his lip, then tilted his head far enough that it came to rest against hers. "No, Morg."

"I can't sleep," she said next, her voice still a whisper.

"Me neither, Bambi."

For a moment, she was silent, then she pulled herself a little closer to him. "Daddy's going to be okay, right?"

He wanted to nod but the truth was that he didn't know. He should be. He had to be! Tony Stark, brought down by some icy water? No, no, that just... he wouldn't accept that. But then the memories from that evening popped up in front of his eyes. How hard it had been for him to breathe, his eyes heavy with fever. 

"I.. erm... I talked to May and she... she said that the doctors are taking really good care of him."

"Hm." She didn't sound convinced by that at all. "I want to go and see him."

"I know," he whispered. "Me too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys for reading, the kudos, and comments! It's very appreciated :)
> 
> Part 3 will follow soon!


	3. Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whumptober 2020 Prompt No. 13 - Breathe In, Breathe Out  
> Delayed Drowning | ~~Chemical Pneumonia~~ | Oxygen Mask

The house was quiet and dark. Morgan really seemed to be asleep in his arms this time. Her breathing was deep and strong. In contrast, he tried to keep his own shallow, scared that any excess movement even of his chest might wake her back up.

So he stayed quiet and completely still until he saw the lights outside of his window. Carefully and slowly he maneuvered himself out of his own bed, cradling Morgan's head that had been cushioned on his chest until he had moved it onto the pillow instead. He snuck to the door and stole out of the room before May and Happy had even made it into the house. At least that meant there was no light for the hallway was dark and silent, nothing that could disturb the little girl

"FRI, 20% lights please."

_**"Of course, Peter."** _

He made it down the stairs just as the two adults unlocked the front door.

"How is he?" His voice sounded small and hoarse.

"Oh, honey, come here..." May's hands were in him in moments, pulling him into her arms. His eyes closed, he counted to 5, indulging her. "You okay, hm? No cough?" Her hand ran through his hair, along his face, pressed a kiss against his forehead.

"How is Tony?" he finally asked. "What... what is happening? I don't... I don't understand!"

"Come on, bud, let's just..." Happy sighed, one hand on his shoulder. "Let's get out of the hallway at least."

They positively dragged him into the living room, made him sit on the couch just next to where the blankets were still lying that Pepper had pulled all around Mr. Stark.

"Please..." His try to keep the pleading whine out of his voice was unsuccessful. "Just tell me what's happening!"

May sat down next to him but it was Happy who spoke up. "The doctors are doing the best they can to treat Tony and all we can do right now is—"

"Yeah, that's what they tell the families when someone is about to die." He looked from Happy to May and then back to Happy again. "I want to see him."

"Peter, honey..." May shifted a little closer. "There is nothing any of us can do right now other than being here for Morgan and then tomorrow morning—"

"No, I..." He shot up from the couch, every muscle in his body seemed electrified. "I can't just sit here and wait." He shook his head. "Last time you told me to just do nothing he would have just... just stayed dead. I can't—"

"Alright, alright..." Happy had stepped a little closer. "Just calm down for a moment. This is... this is very different from what happened with... erm... over... over the summer, okay? He's at the hospital. He has people who are—"

"Just stop!" Peter's eyes wandered back and forth between them. While Happy looked a little shocked at his outburst, May's eyes were round and wide ever since he had stated that he wanted to see Mr. Stark. "I can't just sit here. Please."

"Just sitting here, just sitting there..." Happy pulled his arms up to underline the shrug. "What does it matter tonight? He's not even conscious right now, Pete. At least here, you have a bed where... Peter!"

His heart had given such a painful squeeze, he'd staggered back a bit only to rebound with a rush towards the cupboard in the hallway where Mr. Stark kept his car keys.

He was... he was unconscious? Peter's breathing staggered at the thought. Unconscious? Why... why? 

"Hey, stop! Peter—" Haply had put himself between Peter and the door that led to the garage.

"Get out of my way."

"Honey, please. It's the middle of the night. There is no point." May was close behind him but still kept her distance, not physically trying to hold him back. Not yet. "They won't even let you into the hospital right now!"

Happy's hands were pulled up in a defensive gesture as he blocked the door. "Pepper is with him. He's not alone, okay? We'll go right after breakfast and—"

"I don't want to hurt you, Happy." Peter's hands were balled up into fists to retain control over his panic. "Please. Move."

"Hey, I know you're scared for him..." He shook his head, eyes intently on Peter. "I get that, okay? But you can't—"

"Alright..." Peter muttered under his breath. 

He stepped a little closer, feigning to go left, and just as Happy jumped into action, he dodged him on the right instead. Child's play, really. He shut the door to the house behind him then pressed the button to open the garage door, and quickly jumped into the Audi. A quick flip on the gearshift put the car in reverse and he stepped on the gas. Suddenly, there was a tingling on the back of his neck and without thinking, Peter jumped on the break with both feet just as Happy rushed out of the house and came to stand right there in the driveway.

"Holy fuck," Peter breathed.

Happy rushed towards him, pulled open the door.

"Alright kid, just—"

"I need to see him!" His knuckles were white from how hard he was holding the steering wheel.

"Yeah, I got that, but you're not driving."

Peter looked up at him, his eyes burning.

"Just.. come on..." he sighed. "Scooch over. I'll drive you."

Peter froze, not sure if he had heard that right. "You... you will?"

Happy pursed his lips and gave a quick wave to May who still stood at the front door. "Will there be another way to keep you quiet?"

"N-no."

"That's what I thought. Go on. Passenger seat for you."

Their drive was quiet. Peter's eyes got a little heavy. Maybe he was a bit more exhausted than he had realized. Once or twice he startled himself, sat up straight after he had almost nodded off.

"We have another 20 minutes to go." Happy's voice was low, eyes focussed on the dark road ahead of them. "You can close your eyes for a bit of you want."

Peter huffed. "You trying to circle the block till I'm down? I'm not a kid anymore."

Happy shook his head and for a moment, Peter thought he might leave it at that. "You're old enough to know that getting tired has nothing to do with being a kid. It's been a long day, Pete. It's okay to need some rest, even for Spider-Man."

He looked down at his hands where one of his thumbs was flicking the other back and forth. "How are you this calm?" 

There was another beat of silence before Happy answered just as quiet as before. "Someone has to be."

"But he... he's unconscious. In the hospital," Peter whispered back, his voice shaking.

For the first time since he had gotten in the car, Happy gave a quick glance in his direction. "It's Tony."

He said it like that should be enough to believe that the man would just wing this. Like he wasn't mortal. Like they hadn't all been at that very house they had just left less than 6 months ago to mourn him. Like Peter hadn't watched him die before.

His face turned away from Happy towards the window, lip caught between his teeth he was trying to think of anything but that fear in his heart. The fear that crept up to his lungs and made it hard to breathe.

20 minutes later they had parked the car and rushed towards the entrance of the hospital. Well, Peter rushed, Happy tried to keep up. The lights in the hallway were blindingly bright. He squinted his eyes to protect his senses from at least some of the glare. Happy was right next to him, guiding him now with a hand on the back of his neck.

Peter sent a sideways glance in Happy's direction. "You know where we're going?"

Happy shushed him as a set of automated doors buzzed open in front of them. There was a bit of a commotion to their left as they walked on.

"Hey! Stop!"

Peter tensed under Happy's hand and craned his neck. A security guard, no two, came rushing out of their booth.

"Visiting hours are over, fellas!"

Happy held his head high as he looked the two men up and down. "We're on our way to the ICU. We called ahead."

"Visiting hours are from 7 am to 9 pm. So how about..." One of them, short, no hair, made a show of pulling out his watch. "How about you come back in 6 hours and 12 minutes, yes. Alright." He gestured to the door they had just walked through.

Without even acknowledging the man's comment, Happy gave Peter's back a light push and made him walk on towards the elevators that the hallway was leading towards.

"Hey, woah, you can't just... hey, stop! Freeze!"

Happy blew out a low breath but stopped walking. He turned towards the security man. "Listen, buddy. I'm really not in the mood for this tonight. Call your supervisor, hm? Like I said, we called ahead to—"

"And I said, visiting hours are from—"

The elevator door behind them opened and both security guards' faces made an impressive run through the motion from anger to surprise and then very clear annoyance.

"Mr. Hogan?"

Happy's eyebrows moved up and he tilted his head a little to the side while he still stared at the men in front of him. "Mrs. Sakuma..." He turned towards her. "I presume?"

"Miss actually." She looked past him at her two subordinates. "I'll take it from here, gentlemen."

The lady ushered both, Peter and Happy, into the elevator, then followed them and pressed the button for the third floor. Peter's heart was racing, his pulse hammering in his ears and it had nothing to do with hospital security.

"He's... he's in the ICU?" His eyes were looking for Happy's but the man just placed his hand on Peter's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, followed by a light nod of his head.

"I'm sorry, my mistake, _Miss_ Sakuma."

"Oh, not to worry, not to worry!" The lady wrung her hands, looking just as nervous as Peter felt. "We have set Mr. Stark up in a room with the utmost privacy just like you had requested, Sir," the lady continued, her eyes nervously wandered from his hands to Happy and then to the door of the elevator. "I informed Mrs. Stark about the imminent arrival of Mr. Stark's son right after your er... colleague called."

Peter's head shot up but Happy kept a tight grip on his shoulder. "Thank you, Ms. Sakuma."

"We have been doing our best to accommodate everything that Mrs. Stark asked for but she didn't really seem interested in any offer we could make for... for food or the bed in the adjacent room. She just—"

"You don't need to worry about that, Miss," Happy interrupted. "That's what I'm here for."

The doors opened up to another long hallway considerably darker than the entrance of the hospital had been. Peter's feet only moved when the pressure of Happy's hand urged him to go. He couldn't even feel his legs. Or his arms. His whole body was buzzing after what the woman had just said. Mr. Stark's _son_? And she had said that to Pepper? Peter swallowed hard. He'd never live that one down. Their steps echoed through the otherwise silent wing. Their steps and Peter's thundering pulse it seemed.

It wasn't such a big deal. Right? He needed to get a grip of himself. A white lie, probably so the hospital would let them in. Happy, he knew how these things worked. This wasn't his first rodeo, far from it.

"Here we are," Ms. Sakuma said, gesturing at the door in front of them. "I'll be here all night if you need anything—"

"Thank you." Happy interrupted, bowing his head in the slightest motions.

"R-right." The lady did a weird mix of a bow and courtesy before she blushed slightly and walked back towards the elevators.

One hand still on Peter's shoulder, Happy reached forward and pressed down the handle of the door. The first thing Peter's eyes fell on were Pepper as she sat close to the window, curled up with a blanket in a large armchair. She was awake and roused herself out of the chair as Happy pushed Peter into the room.

He wouldn't have moved on his own. He was too occupied staring at the hospital bed that stood right next to Pepper's chair. Not the bed of course, he was staring at the man who was lying on that bed. His arms were stretched out next to his body an IV lodged in his left arm. Two, two IV's. There were two separate bags hanging on the stand at the top of the bed. Most of his mentor's face was obstructed by an oxygen mask. His eyes were closed, his body motionless except for his chest that was rising in short and shallow pulses.

It wasn't until Pepper's hands had pulled him closer and then into a tight hug that he even noticed that she had walked towards him.

"Wh-what happened?" Peter's voice was thin and teary even though he had been so determined to keep his tears back, had thought he was too numb anyway for any emotions to overflow. Apparently, he'd been wrong.

"Shh, just take a breath, honey."

"I... I don't understand. He was... he was fine. He was fine. I... I pulled him out in time, I did. I—"

"Hey, Peter... listen to me."

He couldn't take his eyes off the man's face, the ashen blue-ish look of his skin. That mask.

"Hey, honey, look at me." Her hands cradled of face and turned it towards her. "You did. Alright? You did so good. This is not—"

"I should have... oh god, I... I waited too long, didn't I? I... I should... should have never taken my... my stuff off. I... I would have been fine. I wouldn't have sunk." His eyes shifted back over to his mentor despite Pepper's hands on his face. "I would have been fine and faster, gotten him out so much faster it—"

"Shhh, no, Peter. No, that's not... Peter, look at me. You did everything right, okay? Hey..." Her eyes were wide when he finally looked at her. "You helped Tony and you also took care not to... not to put yourself in... in more danger than..." She swallowed hard. "You've done everything right."

"Then why is he here? Why... why is this happening?"

Pepper pulled him towards the chair. Both hands on his shoulders, she pushed him down until he sat, then she crouched down to be on the same eye-level as he was.

"Tony inhaled some water. This is where these complications came from."

"But... but then if I'd been faster—"

"Peter, when you pulled him up, he was conscious, wasn't he?"

"I..." He shook his head. "You did. You... you pulled him out. Both of us"

"Al-alright. Yes. Yes, I did." She nodded, her head slightly tilted to the side. "But you pulled him out from under the ice, right?"

"Right," Peter whispered.

"And he was conscious then."

"He... he grabbed my arm, under... in the water. I.... I didn't..." He shook his head, his eyes burning. "I didn't find him, he... he... he found me!"

"Well, the things is, darling, he was not passed out, was he?"

A shudder went through him as he thought back to those moments underwater that had seemed so much longer. Of how someone... Mr. Stark. He had reached for him out of the icy darkness in that lake. "N-no, he wasn't."

"No." Pepper hand was back on his cheek and she nodded like it would mean something that Mr. Stark had reached for him. "But aspiration of water is not something that just happens, even in the struggle to breathe underwater. A person usually falls unconscious before something like that happens."

He frowned, not really following where she was going. "But then... how—"

"The.... the doctors think that maybe when Tony first fell into the water, when is head was submerged under the water, that it was such a shock to his system because of the cold that he might have blacked out for a moment and that this is where he inhaled some water."

"Oh..." With a shiver, Peter tried to shake off the icy feeling that suddenly flooded his senses as Pepper's words brought back those memories. He seemed to tremble just like he had when he had slid into that ice-cold lake when he had dove down to find his mentor and just hardly managed to keep his own consciousness. "He passed out when he fell in."

"That's what the doctors think."

Peter nodded like his agreement would matter to the doctors. His eyes shifted over to Mr. Stark. He was just lying there, quiet, unmoving.

"He's on antibiotics now," Pepper explained.

Quickly, Peter blinked away his tears the best he could before he looked back up at her.

"The water he inhaled caused inflammation in his lungs. That turned into pneumonia."

"Is... Is that..." Peter silently the weakness in his voice. "Is that why he fell unconscious?"

"No!" Pepper's hands squeezed his, looking for eye contact. "No, darling. It's... the sedation helps his body rest. The coughing would have kept him up."

"Oh..." Peter frowned, not sure if this was better or worse. "That's..." He frowned.

"They are giving his body time to fight this."

He nodded, trying to signal that he understood when really, he wasn't sure he did. All he knew was that Mr. Stark was hooked up to a few machines while they had knocked him out. It should make him feel better that his mentor was monitored and treated by professionals, but a single glance at how helpless the man looked blew all that away.

Happy tried to usher him in the adjacent room at least twice if not three times. Peter didn't even try to pay attention to it. It wasn't until Happy dragged in an armchair from the other room and placed it just next to Pepper, that Peter found it in himself to settle down. Yes, Happy had been right, there wasn't anything he could do but sit and wait, but he couldn't deny that the sitting and waiting felt a lot easier to handle while he could watch his mentor's chest rise and fall, confirming that he was still there with them.

He woke up with a start when someone nudged his shoulder. For a moment, he was a little lost, not sure when he had fallen asleep and most of all, where. He glanced around himself and couldn't really place his surroundings at all. Then he saw Pepper and the hospital bed. Right. Mr. Stark. The realization had him jerk up straight, eyes wide open, mind alert.

"It's okay, honey. Tony's doctor will be here any minute. I thought you might like to hear, hm?"

Peter had barely had time to rub his eyes before the door swung open but instead of the doctors, it was Morgan who rushed through the door, closely followed by Happy. Without as much as a look at either her mother or Peter, the little girl ran for the bed and pulled herself close to Tony. Peter's eyes were wide and he had just been about to pull her back so she wouldn't make it harder for the man to breathe when his arm came up and pulled his daughter close.

Mr. Stark was awake and Peter hadn't even realized. There was little time for Peter to mull that one over before the door swung open again and three doctors pressed through the frame almost simultaneously followed by the lady that had led them up to the room the previous night. He tried to rouse himself, tried to keep up when they talked about inflammatory damage to alveolar-capillary membranes and acute respiratory distress. 

The doctors then did ask them to wait in the other room while they would examine Mr. Stark. Morgan protested heavily until Happy picked her up and carried her next door. Peter kept his head down and followed along, leaving Mr. Stark and Pepper alone with the doctors.

Miss Sakuma had followed along and closed the door to Mr. Stark's room. In impressive detail, she ran through a list of food and beverages, magazines, and things like that, but Peter had no appetite or nerve to do anything but wait for what the doctors had to say. Morgan on the other hand, was outright rude to the lady, telling her how she hadn't asked for anything and wasn't planning on it either.

"Morgan, that's enough." Happy rarely treated the girl like anything but the little princess firecracker she was but even he was taken aback by her outburst.

"I said, I don't want anything!" she whined.

"That's..." The lady cleared her throat. "That is perfectly okay, little Miss. Mr. Hogan, if you do need anything please just let the staff know."

Peter had his arms crossed as he watched Miss Sakuma leave the room, then turned and just caught how Morgan tore herself free from Happy and stalked over to the couch next to the window. With a heavy groan, she let herself fall down, face balled up with frustration. Happy was just about to open his mouth when Peter walked up to him.

"You know... actually... about the breakfast thing..."

Happy narrowed his eyes on him. The expression on his face said that he knew what Peter was trying to do and if he did know, it seemed that he was okay with Peter to give it a shot. "Well, let me see if I can find you any, hm?"

Peter waited for a beat after the door had fallen shut behind Happy. Morgan wasn't looking at him, head turned away and arms crossed. She seemed mad and for the first time in the hectic of the day so far, it dawned on Peter who she was really upset with.

"Hey... Morg?"

She didn't look at him though, only jerked herself a bit further away from him.

"Morgan?" He was slow to come closer to her and then came to sit down next to her on the couch. "Hey, you okay?"

It didn't take much to make her talk. "I told you I wanted to go and you just left me!"

"I..." Peter flinched back at her words, mouth gaping. "You... you were sleeping and... and I didn't... you were sleeping and..." And he hadn't even thought of that. How to get to the hospital had been the only thought on his mind.

"So? You could have woken me up!" She growled at him, still turned away but not even pretending to hide her anger. "I wanted to go! I told you I wanted to see my dad!"

"That... Morgan, they would have never allowed it." He swallowed hard. That wasn't even a lie. In fact, if Morgan had been up by the time Peter had made his intentions clear to May and Happy about driving to the hospital, he was pretty sure nobody would have left the house that night.

"I don't care," she spat at him over her shoulder.

"Hey, come on... I'm sorry, okay? I could have never convinced them. It was past midnight!"

"So?" She finally turned towards him, arms still tightly crossed around herself. "They let you go, didn't they? Happy took you to see my dad and not me!"

"I'm sorry, Bambi, I... I didn't mean to—"

"DON'T call me that!" The voice was high pitched and sharp. So sharp in fact, Peter flinched back from her.

"I... I'm sorry, Morgan. I..." He shook his head, not even sure what to say. He had never seen her this angry before.

"Happy took you but he's my dad," she yelled at him. "He's not your dad!"

Peter didn't really know when he had stood up from the couch, but he had as if the cushion had been on fire. Then he just stood there, staring, his mouth wordlessly open.

"All you do is get him hurt! He never got hurt like this before you came back!"

"Morgan!" Pepper had rushed into the room and quickly came to kneel in front of her daughter, both hands on her arms. "Morgan Hertha Stark, what do you think you're doing right now? Apologize to Peter!"

"But he's not!" She was crying now, big tears rolling down both her cheeks. "He's my dad, not Peter's!"

Pepper's mouth popped open but she didn't say anything until she shook herself out of her trance. "Morgen, that... Peter and your dad—"

"No..." Peter cleared his throat and retreated a couple of steps. "That's... that's okay. You... you're right, Morgan, he's... he's your dad, not mine. I... I shouldn't have..."

Pepper's eyes were on him but she struggled to let go of her crying daughter. "Peter, honey, just... that's not... Tony loves you, you know that."

His eyes were burning even without looking at either Pepper or Morgan. "She's.. she's right, I... I shouldn't even..."

"Peter..."

He shook his head and was through the door that led out to the hallway without another look at them. His mind was racing so fast he didn't even know where he was going until he pushed his way into the stairwell. He hesitated for a second before he climbed the stairs up all the way to the rooftop. He just needed some air. He need to think. To come up with a way out of there. There was a padlock on the door that led outside which was flimsy enough that it didn't stand a chance against his strength. He pushed into the open and the cold New York air was almost as painful as a punch to the face. 

It did help clear his mind though or maybe that was the pacing. It was impossible for his feet to stand still up there and not just because it was freezing. He lost all sense of time as he walked back and forth along the edge of the building. Mr. Stark would be annoyed with him this close to the ledge without his suit, but Mr. Stark wasn't there to lecture him now, was he?

"Peter?"

His head shot up and he froze but stopped himself from looking over his shoulder at Happy.

"You really need to think of new places to hide if you don't want to be found, kid."

"Why did you come up here," Peter whispered into the cold wind.

"Well," Happy sniffed out a short breath. "Because of Tony."

His heart was beating in his throat, a sudden sense of dread engulfing him. "Is... is he okay?"

Happy frowned. "He asked for you."

Peter's eyes went wide. "He... he did?"

His eyebrows knitted close, he studied Peter. "Wouldn't chase you all the way up here if he hadn't, would I?"

It didn't matter. Peter turned his back, head bowed low. How could he go down there right now? Disturb him? The three of them? He should go home, leave them be and maybe if— when... when Mr. Stark was a little stronger—

"Peter?"

"I, erm...." He cleared his throat, concentrating on his voice. "I think it's... it's not the right time for that."

Happy blew out a low grunt. "Listen, about Morgan—"

Peter turned on his heel, pulse spiking. "She told you?"

"Pepper," he sighed. "Pepper told me you guys had a fight."

"We didn't—" His heart made a jump as it suddenly occurred to him why Mr. Stark would want to talk to him. "Did she... did she tell him? Oh god, did she tell him that Morgen... that I..."

"Hey kid, take a breath, okay?" The man shuffled a little closer, the concern on his face now evident. "Of course we didn't tell Tony."

Deep breaths. He had to get a grip on his nerves. They were running away with him.

"Come on, the little munchkin is upset and she let it out on you. It's not fair but you shouldn't take it to heart."

One hand on his face, Peter rubbed his temples. His head was throbbing, likely but not exclusively because he had hardly gotten any sleep last night. Not like he would admit it and earn himself another lecture though.

"She's a child, Peter. You think she has any idea how to place any of this? You and Tony, what you mean to each other? She's four years old! She doesn't know what Tony's life was like before you came into it. Or even before she came into it. How often he got hurt, how severely."

"So?" Peter looked back up at him. "That's not her fault, is it? She just... just calls it like she sees it and all she's known was a life that was quieter and... and more peaceful while I was gone."

Happy shook his head getting a couple of steps closer. "While half the universe was gone, Pete."

"I've been back what, 6 months? And he's been in the hospital or... or injured how many times since then?"

"Don't flatter yourself, kid."

Peter only huffed and turned away.

"You saved his life, more than once. You brought him back from the goddamn dead, Peter."

"Yeah, well..." Morgan didn't know that. Didn't know his secret. Nobody did outside of the people on the battlefield that day. Nobody could ever know.

"You've always had his back, Pete. From the very beginning." The man groaned. "Hell, I don't even know how he'd stand up to the Rogues without you having his back."

"The Rogues..." Peter shook his head. "They don't matter. Rogers knows not to bother him anymore."

There was a moment of silence. "What is that supposed to mean?" Happy's voice rang sharp.

Peter bit his lip, eyes on his feet. "It... it has nothing to do with this, okay?"

Loud steps behind him made it clear that Happy was walking closer. "What the hell did you say to Steve Rogers, Peter?"

Oh, he had said a good many things to the Captain, none of them he was willing to discuss on the rooftop of the hospital Mr. Stark was being treated in though. He turned, just as Happy came to a halt right in front of him. "I'm just... I'm gonna go home. Can you.... you're.... you'll pick up May, right? I mean, she... you'll..."

"Hey, can you slow down for a moment?"

"Please? I can... I'll take the subway. Maybe get in an hour or two of patrol on the way back to Queens." That wasn't really an option. His regular suit was still in Queens and the nano-housing unit for the Iron Spider was in his room at the Stark residence, but it was a good enough excuse to bolt as any.

"Come on, kid..." Happy's hand came to rest on his shoulder. "You made me drive you here in the middle of the night and now you're not gonna talk to Tony when he asks for you?"

His pulse was hammering in his ears. He did want to see him, now that he was awake. Make sure that his mentor would be okay...

"Pepper and Morgan are grabbing a bite to eat, so... you know. It'd just be the two of you."

Peter looked up at him. He felt a little numb but without thinking much more about it, he nodded his head yes. Just Mr. Stark. He could do that.

They walked silently side by side, not to the stairs but the elevator. Peter's heart was throbbing in his throat, nerves making his hands shake. Happy accompanied him to the door like he wouldn't be able to find it on his own. Or like he would run if left unsupervised.

"Here we are." Happy motioned for the door. "Go on, I'll go see how the girls are doing."

Peter pulled in a deep breath before he pushed the door open. The room was indeed empty. Except for his mentor of course. The mask was obstructing most of his face though so Peter had to step a little closer till he could confirm that the man was awake, looking right at him.

"Mr. Stark?"

The man's eyes fell shut for a moment, then he reached up and pulled the oxygen mask down. "Back to... that, are we?"

Peter swallowed hard at the strain in his mentor's voice, his cheeks hot as he stepped even closer to the bed.

"You're not supposed to remove that," Peter whispered.

The man's eyes were on Peter's face, unwavering. "Think it's... okay... for a moment."

"Oh yeah?" It was awkward just standing there. He didn't know what to do with his hands or arms. "And where did you get your medical degree, hm?"

The corners of the man's mouth twitched. "The Wizard's been... expanding my basics."

Peter frowned. "Strange?" He contemplated what that would be like, those two men on like... a video call or something? That smelled like more trouble than it was worth. "You shouldn't be talking to the Wizard. You're supposed to be in retirement."

Mr. Stark gave him a look. "Retired from... active duty. Don't ship me... off to an old... folk's home yet."

One hand scratching the back of his neck, Peter avoided the man's eyes. He didn't like this at all and he couldn't even hide the fact that he didn't.

"Kid..." He waited until Peter looked back up at him. "I don't... remember a lot of... what happened... yesterday. But Pepper... Pepper said that I... was a bit... of an ass... to you."

Heat was rushing to Peter's face. "It's... it's okay, you don't... "

"I'm sorry." His eyes were so intent on Peter, it almost made him overlook how the breaks between his words when he tried to suck in more air became longer. "Thank... you... for saving... me."

Peter could only shake his head, eyes on his hands instead of Mr. Stark.

"Pete?" For a moment it seemed like he wanted to say something else until he screwed his face up in pain and a deep cough rang through the room. One at first then the man struggled to pull in a deep breath and coughed some more.

Peter's hand was on the mask in seconds and pulled it back up over his mentor's mouth and nose. "Just breathe, Sir, just breathe." One hand still held the mask in place while the other rubbed the man's arm.

It took a couple of minutes until his breathing had calmed down enough that Peter felt confident enough to let go of the oxygen mask. He had just been about to step back, to let the man get the rest he needed when he caught Peter by his arm.

"Kid, it'll..." His voice was strongly muffled through the mask. "I'll be okay."

Goosebumps traveled from his neck all the way into the tips of Peter's fingers. His throat felt constricted like his emotions were trying to choke him while Mr. Stark looked at him like he could peer into his very soul.

"Come on... give... your old... man... a hug... hm?"

Peter bit his lip hard and a part of him wanted to turn and bolt, but a soft tug on his wrist by Mr. Stark was all he needed to lean down and wrap his arms around the man. Mr. Stark held him close to his chest, while he muttered again and again that everything would be okay. That he would be okay. The words, the promise everyone else had been avoiding to make since the night before. He couldn't deny that those arms around him, holding him close, that it brought a sense of calm and confidence that he had been thoroughly lacking. He couldn't deny the tears either that he shed while he pressed his face against the man's chest.

Only a feeling that crept up his spine made him let go and rub a hand across his eyes before the door swung open. He had taken a couple of steps back from the bed, his mentor's eyes still on him when Morgan rushed towards the bed and clung to her dad in the very same spot that Peter had been kneeling at just a few moments earlier.

"Honey...." Pepper's voice was low right next to him. "Let's go and talk, hm? You and me."

It was the last thing he wanted, to _talk_ about this some more. But what was he supposed to do? Say no to her? Instead, he gave a jerky nod but just as Pepper was about to lead him to the room next door, the lady from the hospital reappeared. Without much preamble, she started talking to Pepper about a nicer and bigger room with more light, more comfortable now that Mr. Stark could be moved out of the ICU and while Pepper was distracted by the lady's congratulations on how much better her husband was already doing, Peter decided on the only plan of action he could handle right now.

He stole to the door of the room then turned one last time and found Mr. Stark's eyes glued to his every movement. For a moment it seemed like the man was about to say something but Peter didn't stick around long enough to find out. He slipped out of the door and back into the stairwell.

Without his suit, it would be a long and dreary trip to the other side of the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for reading, the kudos and comments. I love and super appreciate them!
> 
> I took some creative license with Morgan's middle name cause Morgan H. Stark is canon and I absolutely hate the idea of Tony naming his daughter after Howard no matter how many people want to go on about Stark family traditions, I decided, he would rather name her after a strong female historic persona and decided on Hertha Ayrton, a British Engineer, mathematician, physicist, inventor.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you guys for reading! Part II should be up by tomorrow.
> 
> The Fix-it this is based on: [Like You'd Know How This Works](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18699736/chapters/44349406)
> 
> I'll likely use this story as the basis for more than one of the Whumptober prompt fills.


End file.
